murphy



Aug. 11, 1959 J. T. MURPHY SAND AND GRAVEL DRYING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed. Oct. .4, 1955 JEREMIAH T. MURPHY,

ATTORNEY.

Au 11, 1959 4 J. T. MURPHY 2,899,070

' SAND AND GRAVEL DRYING MACHINE Filed Oct. 4, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2JEREMIAH r MURPHY,- IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEX United States Patent )1 SAND AND GRAVEL DRYING MACHINE JeremiahT. Murphy, Sun Valley, Calif.

Application October 4, 1955, Serial No. 538,459

4 Claims. (Cl. 210-'523) This invention relates to a sand and graveldrying machine and more particularly to a drying machine in which thematerial is continually fed to the machine and the water is continuallyremoved.

The drying machine of the invention utilizes a rotated, tilted pan intowhich the sand or gravel is fed and the water is removed at the lowerposition of the pan. The rotation of the pan serves to move the sandpast the highest portion of the pan, during which time the sandencounters a number of angularly positioned bafiles. These bailles serveto squeeze the water from the sand so ithat the water will run back tothe lower portion of the ;pan and be continuously removed. One of thebaffles is :so positioned at an angle to the rim of the pan that rota-.tion of the pan will continually remove the dried material tby forcingthe material over the side of the pan. Thus, sand or gravel can becontinuously fed to the pan and the 'dried material will be continuouslypushed over the side Eby the unloading baffle into any suitablecontainer. .Since the sand or gravel will pile up against the bafiles,the weight of the sand will also force the water from the sand :at thebottom of the pan and some sand is permitted to pass underneath thebaflle towards the unloading baffle :since it is in a fairly drycondition. Thus, the drying machine operates in two different manners tosqueeze the water out of the sand. The present invention is moresuitable than the centrifugal type now in use since the present typemachines are not continuous in operation and are incapable of drying thesand or gravel sufiiciently for immediate use.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sand andgravel drying machine which is continuous in operation and utilizes anumber of baffles to squeeze the water from the sand.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sand and graveldrying machine having a tilted, rotating pan into which the wet sand iscontinually introduced at the lower portion and from which the water,squeezed from the sand by a number of bafiles, is continually re movedfrom the lower portion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sand and gravel dryingmachine in which the wet sand is placed in a tilted, rotating pan and isrotated against baffles which act to squeeze the water from the sand andalso to pile up the sand to remove the water from the sand at the bottomof the pan; the dried sand being forced over the side of the pan by oneof the baflles.

These and other objects of the invention not specifically set forthabove will become readily apparent from the accompanying description anddrawings in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of the drying machine illustrating theposition of the various bafiles.

Figure 2 is a side elevation View of the drying machine showing thedrive mechanism for the tilted pan and the syphon for continuouslyremoving the water from the pan.

Figure 3 is a vertical section along line 3--3 of Figure 2 showing themanner in which the bafiles are supported relative to the tilted pan.

Figure 4 is a partial section similar to Figure 3 showing a modificationof one of the baflles wherein openings are located in the bottom edge topermit the passage of sand therethrough.

Figure 5 is a partial vertical section similar to that of Figure 3illustrating a modification of one of the baflles wherein the bafile isspring loaded to prevent the baflie from becoming locked against the panby large particles.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of a modification of the invention wherein anumber of baffles are utilized to squeeze the Water from the sand.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated as Figures 1 to3, the pan 10 is rotatably mounted about a tilted axis 11 which isconnected to variable speed reduction gearing contained within housing12 and the reduction gearing is connected through a pulley 13 and belt14 to motor 115. While the pan is illustrated as tilted from thehorizontal approximately 10 degrees, it is understood that the tilt ofthe pan can be adjusted to the desired angle by changing the tilt ofaxis 11. Also, the speed of the pan can be adjusted by adjustment of thegearing to provide theproper operating speed for the machine. The panhas a uniform rim 16 of suitable height to retain the sand duringrotation of the pan and bottom '17 is connected to axis 1 1. The bottom17 has a high portion -18 and a low portion 19 as a result of the tiltof the pan. A stationary frame 20 for the baflles is positioned aroundthe pan and has Vertical legs 21 and 22 which are secured to support 23for the machine. The leg 21 is higher than the leg 22 so that crossmember 24 can be connected to the top of each leg and positionedparallel to and over the top of the pan. A first baffle 25 is secured tocross member 24 by two supports 26 and 2.7 which are riveted orotherwise attached to the cross member and to the back of the bafile.Also, the end of the bafile is supported by the cross member 24 by abracket 28 which has one end 29 secured to the end of the baffle and theother end 30 is connected to the cross member. The bracket 28 andsupports 26 and 27 serve to position and hold the baffle 25 at an angleto the radial line of pan 10 and the top of the bafile is tippedslightly in the direction of rotation as indicated by the arrow ofFigure 1. A second baffle 31 is secured at its upper edge to the crossmember 24 by suitable means such as rivets or bolts, and the top of thisbaffle is also tipped slightly away from the direction of rotation. Thebafile 31 is positioned at an angle to the radial line of the pan suchthat the baffie and rim 16 form a wedge to continuously accumulate anddischarge the dry sand.

The wet sand or gravel is continually introduced at the low portion 19of pan 10 through a chute 32 which is connected to a supply of wetmaterial contained in a hopper or similar container and the sand can becontinually fed into the pan at a desired rate. In order to continuallywithdraw the water which has been removed from the sand by the bafiles,a syphon 33 has an enlarged end 34 positioned directly above the bottomsurface of the pan at the low portion 19 and the smaller end 35 ispositioned below the water level 36 in a tank 37. The tank 37 issupported by a stand 38 and a bracket 39 serves to support the syphon 33from the stand 38. The level 36 is continually maintained by discharge40 at the same level as the desired level of the water within the lowportion of the pan so that the end 34 of the syphon can be maintainedunder water and the water can be continually removed.

The lower edge of baflles 25 and 31 are spaced slightly from the bottom17 of pan 10 to form spaces 41 and 42, respectively, which permit a thinlayer of sand on the bottom of the pan to pass under the baffles. Thislayer will be relatively dry because of the fact that the sand whichpiles up on each bafile will squeeze the water from the layer. Thespaces also prevent the bottom of the pan from becoming locked againstthe batfies, since oversized particles can pass through the spaceswithout becoming wedged bet-ween the baffles and the bottom of the pan.Also, the bafiie 25 contains a notch 43 at the lower end nearest theaXis 11 for the purpose of permitting dry sand to pass underneath thebatfie.

The operation of the drying machine will now be described. The wet sandor other granular material is continually fed into the pan through thechute 32 and the sand will rotate with the pan until it comes in contactwith the first stationary bathe 25. The sand will pile up against thefirst baffie causing the water to be squeezed out of the sand and thewater removed from the material will drain back to the low portion ofthe pan. Because of the angle of baflie 25, the sand piling up on thebattle will be moved along the first battle by the rotation of the panand will leave the baffle at the end closest the axis 11. The sand willthen be rotated by the pan until it comes into contact with the secondbafile 31. Since sand is continually piling up on b afiie 25 and beingmoved along the bafile, a considerable height and weight of sand iscontinually present at the baflle. Thus, the water in the sand on thebottom of the pan will be squeezed out of the sand even though thebottom of the pan is covered with water. to pass through space 41 at thebottom of the bathe and through the notch 43 which passes a higher layerat the discharge end of the bafile where the height of the sand on thebafile is the greatest. The water removed at bathe 25 will be removed bythe end of the syphon 33 positioned at the lower portion of the pan.

The sand engaging the baffle 31 will pile up in the same manner as onbattle 25 in order to squeeze additional water from the sand. Since thebafile 31 is positioned at an angle to the rim 16 to form a wedgebetween the rim and the bafiie, the rotation of the pan will move thesand along the battle towards the rim 16 where the dried sand will bepermitted to fall over the edge into a suitable receptacle. The waterremoved by battle 31 will fiow back to the lower portion 19 of the panwhere it will be removed, along with the water from bafiie 25, by thesyphon 33. It is apparent that the sand leaving baflle 25 will move tothe higher portion of the pan where no water will be present because ofthe tilt of the pan and thus, no water will contact the sand prior toengaging baflle 31.

As the water level at the lower portion of the pan rises above the level36 in tank 37, it will be continually removed by the syphon 33 anddischarged through the passage 40. Since a thin layer of sand can alsopass underneath the baffie 31, because of space 42, the end 34 of thesyphon is enlarged and positioned slightly above this thin layer so thatsand will not be removed along with the water by the syphon. The end 34of the syphon is positioned ahead of the chute 32 so that the sand beingloaded into the pan will move directly toward the battle 25 and awayfrom the end 34 of the syphon. It is understood, of course, that thesyphon can be replaced by any suitable water removal device, such as asuction pump, in order to continually remove the water from the lowerportion 19 of the pan. The squeezing action of the baflies results fromthe fact that the battles require the sand to change its direction ofmovement since the rotation of the pan wants to make the sand go in acircular path whereas the bathe causes the sand to take an angular pathin respect to the radial line of the pan. The thin layer of dried sandpassing underneath the bathe 25 can mix with the dried sand leaving theinner end of the baffle so that a part of this layer can pile up on thebaflle 31 along with the other sand. The space 41 permits a layer ofsand to pass under baffle 31 solely to prevent wear and jamming betweenthe bafile and the pan.

The angle of the bafiles 25 and 31 can be adjusted in order to provideproper operation of the machine and This sand will be permitted thebafiies can be vertically positioned rather than tipped back from thedirection of rotation. As illustrated in Figure 4, the notch 43 could bereplaced by a number of circular openings 44 which can be positionedalong the lower edge of the bafiie, either over the full length of thebaffle or over any portion of the length, such as at the inner end onlyas illustrated. The size, number and spacing of the openings can beselected to give the desired operation. The circular openings serve topermit the sand dried from the weight of the sand on the 25 to pass inthe same manner as the notch 43. Of course, the unloading baffle 31 willnot contain the notch 43 or openings 44 since it is desired to removeall the dried sand piling up on this bafile.

Referring to Figure 5, a modification of the support of the bafiles 25and 31 is illustrated in which the bafile 25 is shown as being springmounted from the cross member 24. The baflle 25 has threaded openings toreceive the end of bolts 45 and 46 which are slidably mounted inopenings in the cross member 24. The springs 47 and 48 are positionedaround the bolts 45 and 46, respectively, between the upper edge of thebafile and the lower edge of the cross member 24 so that the baffle 25is held in position by engagement of the heads of the bolts with thecross member. Thus, in the event that large pebbles or otherobstructions enter the space 41, the bafiie 25 can move upwardly againstthe springs to let the oversized particles pass without binding the panagainst the battle. It is understood that the same structure can be usedto support baffle 31.

Another modification of the invention is illustrated in Figure 6 whereinonly the position of the various bafiies is indicated and it isunderstood that suitable supports for the baffles can be provided tohold the bafiies in rigid position. In this modification, five batfies,49, 50, 51, 52 and 53 are utilized in order to obtain additionalsqueezing of the sand and thus remove additional water. The battle 49 isangularly positioned to receive the sand from chute 32 and the same willbe moved inwardly along the bafile and leave the inner end of the bafiieat a position opposite the inner end of battle 50. The bafile 50 ispositioned. at an angle to move the sand received from battle 49 towardthe rim 16 and the sand will leave the outer end of bathe 50 at aposition such that it will rotate against the outer end of the bafiie51. The sand received by baffle 51 will move towards the inner end ofthe battle because of the rotation of pan 10 and will leave the bafilein position to move against the inner end of battle 52. The sand leavingbattle 52 will be received by bafile 53, which is positioned at an angleto the rim to form a wedge between the rim and the battle, and thebaflle '53 will unload the dry sand from the pan in the same manner asbatlle 31 of Figure 1. The pan has a rim 16 which consists of a finescreen 16" continuous around the rim and rigidly supported by members 54positioned around the pan and secured to the bottom of the pan. Theopenings in the screen are smaller than the grains of material withinthe pan so that water removed by bafiles can continually drain throughthe screen at the lower portion of the pan without loss of material. Thescreen eliminates the need for syphon 33 so that either the screen orthe syphon could be utilized in the machine of Figures 1 and 6. Whilethe modification of Figure 6 shows the use of five bafiles, it isunderstood that the invention contemplates the use of any suitablenumber of bafiles positioned to provide the proper drying of the sand.The bafiles illustrated in Figure 6 can be rigidly or spring supportedin any suitable manner and can have openings or notches in the loweredges to permit the passage of dry sand.

By the present invention, a novel sand and gravel drying machine isprovided in which bafiles are utilized to continually squeeze water fromthe sand. The tilt of the pan can be adjusted in accordance with thesize and weight of the material being dried and by the amount of liquidin the material. Also, the speed of the pan can be adjusted up to aspeed where the material starts to move toward the outside edge of thepan under the infiuence of centrifugal force. When a single notch 43 isutilized, it is preferably positioned at the discharge end of the bafflesince the sand is highest at this end, but the position of the notch canbe varied since sand piles up over the whole length of the bafile. Theangle, size and location of the individual baffles and the speed andtilt of the pan can be varied to provide proper operation of the machinefor any material to be dried and it is understood that the use of themachine is not limited to the drying of sand and gravel. Various othermodifications are contemplated and may be readily resorted to by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for drying granular material such as sand and gravelcomprising a tilted pan having a flat floor and an upstanding rim, meansrotatably mounting said pan around a tilted aXis providing a lowerportion to which liquid from material in said pan will drain by gravityand a higher portion from which liquid will drain to said lower portion,means for rotating said tilted pan about said tilted axis, means forcontinually loading wet material into said lower portion of said pan, afirst nonrotatable baffle depending into said pan with the lower edgethereof positioned adjacent to and spaced slightly above said pan floorand being arranged angularly to the radial lines of said pan to pile upWet material and cause such piled up material to move by action thereonof said rotating pan in a direction across the radial lines of the pan,said first bafile serving to squeeze a portion of the liquid from saidmaterial, a second nonrotatable bafile depending into said pan andpositioned adjacent to said pan floor and angularly to the radial linesof said pan to receive and pile up material leaving said first baffle,said second baffle being positioned to form a wedge with said rim atsaid higher portion of said pan and at such an angle thereto as to movethe piled up material toward the rim at said higher portion and to causedischarge thereof over the edge of said rim adjacent to the upperportion of said tilted pan by the rotation of said pan and the liquidremoved by the squeezing action of said first and second bafiles beingdirected to flow away from the discharge edge by the tilt of said panand to return by gravity to said lower portion of said pan, and meanslocated at the lower portion of said pan for continually Withdrawingliquid removed from the material.

2. A machine for drying granular material as defined in claim 1 whereina plurality of additional depending nonrotatable baifies are spacedaround said pan between said first and second ibaffies and formed of alength less than the radius of said pan, each of said additional bafflesbeing angularly positioned with respect to the radial lines of said panin order to pile up said material and discharge the material to the nextbaflle, one of said additional baflles receiving the material from saidfirst baffie and another of said additional baffles discharging to saidsecond baffle.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2 wherein passage means are provided atthe lower edge of at least one of the baffies to permit a portion of thesand piled up against the baflie to move through the baflile afterhaving been dried by the sand piling up above it on the baffie.

4. A machine for drying granular material as defined in claim 1 whereina support bracket extends across the diameter of said pan above the rimthereof, and means fixed to said support bracket for upwardlyresiliently supporting said first baflle in spaced relation anddepending into said pan and spaced so that the lower edge of each ofsaid bafiles is resiliently urged toward and positioned spaced from andadjacent to said floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS773,593 Riensch Nov. 1, 1904 2,233,792 Mallory Mar. 4, 1941 2,711,251Spinetta June 21, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 474,239 Great Britain Oct. 27,1937 529,372 Great Britain Nov. 20, 1940 802,251 Germany Feb. 8, 1951

